Review of exam system sought after report criticises marking errors

CALLS for a complete review of the exam system have been made following the publication of a highly critical report on errors made in marking last year's Leaving Certificate art paper.

The National Parents' Council said the catalogue of mistakes detailed in the report from consultants Price Waterhouse "called into question the entire exam system itself".

According to Fianna Fail's education spokesman, Mr Micheal Martin, a complete examination of the Leaving Cert was now needed to restore confidence in the process.

Officials of the Department of Education will brief parents and teachers affected by the errors on the contents of the report during the next few days, amid concerns that some students who missed college places may take legal action against the Department.

The report on the disappearance of art work from 50 students concludes that no satisfactory excuse other than time pressures can be given to explain the largely avoidable errors.

It criticises the Department's exams branch for a failure to carry out established procedures fully failures of controls, supervision and communication unwarranted changes in established procedures and poor judgment.

However, it says no evidence emerged of any attempt to conceal the failure that occurred, nor were there any inordinate or inexplicable delays in dealing with the various problems once they came to light.

The Minister for Education, who circulated the report to members of the Oireachtas yesterday, said she regretted the anxiety and distress the mistakes had caused to students, their parents and teachers. Ms Breathnach pointed out that the most significant recommendations had already been implemented.

Mr Martin accused the Minister of "presiding over a shambles of an education system". The report had not explained how important and relevant documentation had gone missing, he said, and why missing craft work projects had never been found.

For the Progressive Democrats, Ms Helen Keogh called for the immediate implementation of all 100 recommendations in the report. However, the two unions representing staff in the exams branch in Athlone last night said they would not co-operate until they were given a copy.

The report sets out in detail the errors made in the examining and marking of the art paper. It highlights many examples of deficient arrangements, regulations being ignored, misunderstandings, poor communications within the exams branch and the failure of checking procedures and internal investigations.

However, the six month investigation failed to locate any of the missing pieces of craft work, or to establish with certainty whether they were ever received by the Department.